October 24, 2014
The cross country teams have continued their productive seasons over the past few weeks. Not only do they have individual standout performances, but also the teams as a whole are performing at a high level. The teams last competed in the Hamilton College Invitational on Oct. 11.
The men’s team placed second in the eight-kilometer meet, which is their third top-three finish of the season. Knowing their home course well gave the Continentals an edge over the visiting schools. Ben Yeo ’15 continued his great season as he finished first amongst the 177 competitors with a time of 25:48.4. Harry Sullivan ’16 captured second place eight seconds later with a time of 25:56. Rounding out the top five for Hamilton were Evan Abelson ’16, Dan Baer ’15 and Jack Moses ’16, finishing seventh, 21st and 22nd, respectively.
Sullivan, one of the team’s most consistent contributors, noted the key attributes to individual and team success in saying, “Success all comes from putting in the miles everyday and then having the trust and confidence in your training when it is time to race. Our team pushes each other day in and day out. When you compete with fast guys everyday during practice you are naturally better prepared and more confident going into races.” The team will use this confidence and work ethic to propel themselves towards success in the future.
Not to be one-upped, the women’s team also took second in their race, making it their third top-five finish for the team this season. Lainie Smith ’16 kept her pace going on the five-kilometer course as she took second out of the 161 runners. Most distance races do not come down to the wire, but this one was a sprint for the top spot: Smith’s time of 17:24.9 was a mere eight-tenths of a second slower than the 17:24.1 time that ended up winning the race.
This will definitely motivate her this week in building up for the next race. Rounding out the top five for the Continentals were Hannah Jerome ’18, Michelle Fish ’17, Lindsay Heyer ’17 and Emily Banzer ’15, placing 11th, 15th, 20th and 22nd, respectively.
In addition to the team successes, two Hamilton athletes were awarded New York State Collegiate Track Conference (NYSCTC) runner of the week awards for their performances at the Hamilton invite. Smith and Yeo, who have been anchors all season long for their teams, earned the well-deserved recognition.
The net few weeks will mark the commencement of championship season for the cross country teams. Championship season starts off with States and is capped off by Nationals with meets leading up to it. These races essentially represent the sport’s postseason, as the top male and female racers will attempt to post their best times of the year against other schools’ top runners.
The senior captain Banzer spoke about the team’s expectations for championship season: “We placed really well in our championship meets last year and we are looking forward to matching or improving our placements. We have some good competition coming up in the championship season, but we are ready for the opportunity and excited to show off our hard work.” Sullivan spoke of the men’s expectations, saying, “The team is trying to qualify for the National Championships. The goal at every meet is to compete with and beat nationally ranked teams in order to improve our resume for a potential at-large bid.”
Despite these large goals it will benefit both teams to listen to Sullivan’s following words: “It will be important that we approach the championship season one week at a time. We still have a lot of miles and a lot of racing in front of us so its important that we are focused on each weekend of racing.”
This weekend, on Oct. 25, the teams will compete in the NYSCTC Championships, which will be held at St. John Fisher College. The teams also have the NESCAC Championships the following weekend on Nov. 1, and the individuals who qualify will close out the fall season at the NCAA Division III Atlantic Regional and National championships.
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